Hot Topics:

Teaching values on the mat: Former Dacono policeman retires early to take over jiu-jitsu studio

Joer Lopez's brother, Erwin, still involved as a top teacher at the school

By Tony KindelspireLongmont Times-Call

Posted:
01/18/2014 09:38:50 PM MST

Updated:
01/18/2014 09:40:44 PM MST

Joer Lopez, owner and instructor, poses for a portrait last week at Tri-Town Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy near Frederick. To see a video go to www.timescall.com.
(Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)
(
Matthew Jonas
)

Tri-Town Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy

Location: 8105 W. Interstate 25 Frontage Road, Unit 7

Hours: Classes from morning to night Monday through Saturday (see website for schedule)

Medals and awards are seen hanging on the wall of Tri-Town Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy near Frederick. To see a video go to www.timescall.com. (Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)
(
Matthew Jonas
)

Joer Lopez recently took over running Tri-Town Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the martial arts studio he and his brother opened a little more than a decade ago. Erwin Lopez, Joer's older brother, had been running the business while Joer worked full-time as a Dacono police officer. A month ago Joer decided to take over day-to-day operations "after a couple of years debating leaving law enforcement, leaving my career," he said. "I just thought the business had so much more potential," he said.

At the school, both he and Erwin are known as "professors," a title given to someone who has reached their level of skill in Brazilian jiu-jitsu -- similar to a "sensei" in karate.

Born in the Philippines, the brothers were wrestlers as kids and grew up around martial arts.

Advertisement

"Martial arts runs in our families, since we were babies in the belly, basically," Joer said.

Long-time competitors, as they grew up they gravitated toward kung fu and thai chi. It wasn't until the late 1990s they discovered Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"I had no idea about (Brazilian jiu-jitsu) until I fought one," Joer said. In fact, he added, it was the only style that consistently beat both of them, so they decided to study the style. Both earned their black belts.

For work, Erwin was working as a machinist and Joer was attending a law enforcement academy. After graduating, he went to work first for Morgan County's and then Adams County's sheriff's departments, and in 2002 he took a job with the Dacono police force.

All the while, both he and his brother continued to compete. About the same time, it occurred to Joer to start teaching the style to others.

"When I came here to Dacono there was nothing for the kids to do," Joer said, adding that within about three months of starting classes at the Dacono VFW hall, he had about 30 students.

"It gave the kids outs -- they didn't have to do drugs or be in the gangs or anything like that," he said.

As the classes grew in popularity, the brothers moved their school to Firestone until finally settling on their current location, an open and airy space at 8105 W. Interstate 25 Frontage Road in Frederick.

A few years ago, Joer launched his own line of affordable martial arts competition clothing, called Finish Gear, which he sells at the studio.

One of the changes Joer has made since taking over the business has been to add many more classes. They are now offered morning through night, six days a week.

One of the things that hasn't changed is the family focus of the business. Aside from older brother Erwin still teaching, Joer's wife, Arlene, helps with running the website and manning the books.

And Joer's passing along the family tradition to his daughter, Alyxus, who's a student at the school.

"She started on a mat at about 2 years old," Joer said.

"I like putting (opponents) in chokes," said the 9-year-old, asked about her favorite part of classes.

Alyxus' classmate, Aspen Taylor, also 9, is a new student at the school.

"I like putting people in triangles," Aspen said.

"This is a family-oriented studio," Joer said. "That is our focus."

He said the studio has students from as young as 4 all the way up into their 50s. And although he and the other instructors teach other disciplines, including training mixed martial arts fighters, the majority of students at the school are there to get in shape and have fun.

"Most students that come, they do this for fun and they become dedicated to it," Joer said.

Along with martial arts, from its founding, Joer said, the school has strived to incorporate values, respect, responsibility and accountability into its teachings. That, he said, will not change.

Article Comments

We reserve the right to remove any comment that violates our ground rules, is spammy, NSFW, defamatory, rude, reckless to the community, etc.

We expect everyone to be respectful of other commenters. It's fine to have differences of opinion, but there's no need to act like a jerk.

Use your own words (don't copy and paste from elsewhere), be honest and don't pretend to be someone (or something) you're not.

Our commenting section is self-policing, so if you see a comment that violates our ground rules, flag it (mouse over to the far right of the commenter's name until you see the flag symbol and click that), then we'll review it.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story